Registering to substitute

Having recently completed my substitute registration for two education service districts (ESD's), 15 school districts, and 46 schools all at least an hour away from my house I have some advice for future substitutes, which brings me to my first piece of advice:

Apply early!  I graduated my teacher education program this June and began applying for jobs in late May, come to find out the substitute lists for all the areas close to me had be full since March for the next year!  So all that schmoozing with the teachers from the school I student taught at was pointless!  Now I am driving an hour to get to all my subbing positions.  Sigh.

Stick to as few schools as possible and be known at these schools.  Ok, so this comment is a little hypocritical at the moment, but it is a piece I gleaned from other substitute teachers.  If your ultimate goal is to become a full time teacher, it is in your best interest to substitute at fewer schools, so as to be known at those schools.

Make as many friends in the teaching field as possible!  While this didn't exactly work out for me, it nearly got me a lot of subbing jobs.  I had an acquaintance from BMX (my leisure time activity), who was a teacher that I volunteered with during my schooling, who had five days of subbing for me before he found out PPS's sub list was full!  I was still grateful.  Further, networking is how you find jobs!

Do the ground work.  All the schools that I registered to substitute with are at least an hour away.  This means it took a lot of time to drive to each ESD, SD and school, but it will pay off in the end.  Visit each school and introduce yourself to the secretary, and if possible the principal and teachers.  Be friendly and professional.  This is like your substitute interview.


Be patient and proactive.  Part of substituting is waiting and watching, but during this time you should not be stagnant.  Keep a close watch on any substitute calling systems, call schools, go in to schools to introduce yourself, HAND OUT BUSINESS CARDS, volunteer in schools where you would like to substitute to observe, etc.

Be honest but positive with your reports to the teacher.  I've experienced situations in student teaching where substitute teachers would leave a overly positive report, and the kids would have an entirely different report (whether that be seeming ashamed of themselves, or happy that they just got to play, etc.).  This reduces your credibility.  While students opinions aren't always perfect indicators of a substitute's success teachers love their classes and generally want them to be happy and feel successful while he or she is away.  If challenging situations occur be honest with the teacher, but don't seem overly negative about the class or particular students, either.